Sam felt something cold press against her lips. Her brain felt all fuzzy but she was pretty sure that when the fuzziness lifted there would be pain, a whole lot of pain. She could remember scrambling for the gate with the rest of her team, explosions all around them. Then everything was tumbling around her (or more likely she was the one doing the tumbling) and she was face down in the dirt, flattened under what felt like one of the ceremonial posts that had been erected near this world’s stargate.

She could remember Jack and Teal’c coming back for her, their faces impassive masks as they had worked silently to lever the pillar off of her. She had overheard bits of their conversation as to the wisdom of moving her, fearful of spinal damage. She wasn’t sure what the upshot of that discussion had been, passing out shortly after.

So, now that she was pretty sure she knew what had happened, she needed to take inventory. Toes, feet, hands, fingers: all seemed to be responding. Feeling the cold move across her lips again, she finally cracked open her eyes, blinking as she became accustomed to the light in the infirmary. Slowly, the big blur in front of her resolved itself into a very relieved looking Col. Jack O’Neill.

“Welcome back. You gave us quite a scare there, Carter, but the doc says you’re going to be just fine.”

She tried to respond, but her mouth and throat were dry and raw, probably from anesthesia. Jack nodded and picked up the cup of ice chips. He pulled out another and held it to her slightly open lips. She let it rest there, the ice slowly melting. She let the small drips of water drop into her mouth, slowly spreading across her parched lips and tongue, until she was able to close her lips around the small frozen treat, letting the moisture hit her throat.

O’Neill fed her several more chips until she felt like she could speak without damaging her throat. “Thank you, Sir.”

He smiled broadly. “Nothing better than ice chips after surgery, I always say!”

“No, Sir. I mean, thank you.” Even hoarse, her voice conveyed the deeper gratitude she felt to be alive and whole.

“Anytime, Major. Anytime.”

4. Battle

Sam groaned when she saw her car. It was simply not fair that she returned from a mission with near heat-stroke and a sunburn and now had to dig her car out from under 6 inches of ice and snow before she could go home. All she wanted to do after the week-long mission was to curl up on the couch with a cup of tea and the latest A&A journal. She looked several spots down where she saw O’Neill’s truck already cleaned off, but the colonel himself was nowhere to be found.

She managed to get her driver’s side door open and grab her snow brush/ice scraper. She set to work chipping the ice off the windows. A few minutes later, she became aware of a presence behind her, but before she could turn around her jacket collar was pulled back and she felt a handful of cold ice sliding down her back. She heard O’Neill chortle as he quickly danced back out of arm’s reach.

“Colonel!” she yelled as she turned. The smile of his face was infectious though and, as much as she wanted to be angry, she found herself laughing along with him. In her peripheral vision, she could Teal’c and Daniel approaching. As O’Neill turned his head to wave at their teammates, she quickly scooped up a handful of snow and hefted it straight at him, catching him along the cheek.

“Daniel, Teal’c!” she cried. “It’s war!”

Before long, the parking lot was a snow battlefield filled with whizzing frozen projectiles, laughter, and the occasional yelp as pelted snow made its way past collars. After half an hour, they came to a mutual truce. O’Neill looked around at his team, grateful for the smiles on their faces (well, Teal’c’s eyes more than his face). It had been a hard mission and they needed a way to cut loose and relax. He saw Sam’s face tighten a bit as she glanced at her still-snow covered car.

“Okay, everybody,” he ordered in his best Colonel voice. “Into the truck. We’re having an all-night team night at my house! Ah!” he cut off his 2IC’s inevitable protest. “There is nothing you’re going to accomplish in this weather and your plants will last one more day without you.” Nobody was moving. “You all heard me! In the truck.”

“Well, if you insist, Jack.” Daniel made the first move, sounding quite put upon, but he couldn’t quite hide the twinkle in his eye.

Teal’c nodded. “I too will accompany you.”

They all looked at Sam. She shrugged and smiled. The journal articles could wait. “All right, all right. Team night it is.” And, as she climbed into the truck behind her guys, she thought somehow, this was right.

3. Weekend

Sam looked at Jack across the table. He seemed a little off tonight. But then again, she felt it too. These weekends together were always too short, but lately they’d felt even shorter. It was harder and harder for her to get on that plane heading away from Washington.

But the closer they got to the end of this weekend, the quieter he had gotten. He had even forsaken his standby snarky quips that were the hallmark of his reaction to most uncomfortable situations. Now, on their last night together for probably two months, he had taken her to a fancy restaurant, but they had spent the last fifteen minutes in total silence. He had barely touched his food and she realized that she was just pushing hers around her plate.

Finally, she put her fork down. “Jack, what’s wrong?”

He looked up guiltily, realizing that he had not been a particularly scintillating dinner partner this evening. He tapped his knuckles on the table, taking a deep breath.

“There’s something I’ve been wanting to do.” Her eyebrows raised as she grinned at him. He huffed. “Not... look, Sam, don’t make this harder.”

“Oh.” Her stomach dropped. Was he going to say that they should stop seeing each other?

He saw the panic cross her face, quickly replaced by a stoic poker face. “Aw, crap, Sam. I’m definitely doing this all wrong.” He pulled something out of his jacket pocket and pushed it across the table.

“Look, I can’t get down on one knee. But here goes: I love you, Samantha Carter. And I need you and I’m tired of watching you fly away from me. I know that our lives will never be the normal picket-fence, 9 - 5 type, but I do want a life with you.”

Her eyes widened as she listened and almost without realizing she flipped open the lid on the small velvet box in front of her. In it was a sparkling diamond ring. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked back up at Jack who was watching her with a hopeful smile.

“Marry me, Sam.”

2. Push

Jack hated seeing the pain in Sam’s eyes as she looked up at him. She shook her head. “I can’t do it, Jack,” she panted.

“Yes, you can. You’ve just got to hang in their a little bit longer.” He brushed some damp hair off her forehead.

“God, my mouth is so dry. More ice chips, please?” she asked.

“I’m on it,” he said as he reached to the cup of ice sitting on the table beside them. He spooned some out and placed them in her mouth, the action seeming so familiar yet entirely novel. “I love you,” he reminded her.

She started to say something in return, then winced as another pain took over. “Okay, guys,” said the doctor from her position at the foot of Sam’s bed. “This one should do it. Give us a big push.”

One agonizing minute later, Sam collapsed back onto her pillow, smiling widely as she heard their baby’s first cries. “Mom, Dad, are you ready to meet your daughter?” said a nurse as she gently laid the brightly wrapped bundle on Sam’s chest.

Sam looked between her daughter and her husband, unsure that she would ever have believed that her heart could be as full of love as it was at this moment.

1. Ice Cream

Jack walked down the short hallway decorated with colorful pictures. He shook his head. Hard to believe that this is a hospital, he thought as he walked past the frolicking ducks and clowns. Sam looked up as he entered the room, immediately reaching out for the cup of ice he carried. As soon as she had it, she turned back to the small figure laying quietly in the bed.

“Come on, Emily. Open your eyes. We’ve got something for you.” Jack smiled when the little girl started to stir. She groggily opened her eyes and started to try to talk but stopped when he shook his head at her.

Sam carefully scooped one ice cube out of the cup, holding against their daughter’s lips, the same way Jack had done for her time after time, the same that she had done for him. Using her free hand to smooth Emily’s hair, she studied her face and could see when she became aware of the pain.

“It’s okay, sweetie. You’ve been so brave. These will help. And after you get finish these, we’ll try some water.”

“And then ice cream,” Jack interjected. Sam gave him an exasperated look; she was always trying to keep the junk food out of the house. He looked pointedly back at her. “My daughter just had her tonsils out. She gets as much ice cream as she wants. Don’t blame me; it’s a rule.”

Sam laughed and returned to spooning out the ice chips. She knew this was one battle she would not win. “Okay, ice cream it is.”

Jack came up behind her, threading his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder, seeing the delight in Emily’s eyes. He kissed Sam on the cheek. “Thank you.”